Given the ongoing concerns about government funding cuts, not to mention newspaper coverage of mounting pressures at the multiples (which I covered here), it was refreshing to see a welcome show of faith in the sector this week. On Monday, NHS England was able to confirm what many in community pharmacy were hoping for – the national flu service had been recommissioned.

But while pharmacists should be proud that a service they worked so hard to make a success has been given the green light for a second year, GPs seem less impressed. Admittedly, no one was expecting doctors to be born-again converts to the flu service, especially after the well-publicised examples of certain surgeries deterring patients from visiting a pharmacy for their jab last year.

I was naïve enough to hope that an organisation with the clout of the British Medical Association (BMA) would begin to show some sign of solidarity with pharmacists when it comes to vaccinating the public. Surely GPs’ biggest gripe – that they were left with too many unused vaccines after having the service sprung on them at short notice – will not be an issue second time around?

If only. Instead, the BMA has called for a “serious commitment” to review how the service performs during this coming flu season. “If it fails to show that it has increased total uptake, it should not be recommissioned,” the union said bluntly.

Pharmacy Voice chief executive Rob Darracott is right to point out that last year’s overall low vaccine uptake was most likely due to a range of factors outside of pharmacists’ control, and “more needs to be done” by both professions to ensure a greater proportion of patients benefit from the service. After all, uptake targets should be a goal for all healthcare professionals to aim for, not a way 
to single out pharmacists.

Bearing in mind the service’s rushed implementation last autumn, vaccinating almost a quarter of a million people is a triumph. With the scheme hopefully embedded in the public’s consciousness, the sector can turn its attention to targeting the remaining at-risk and hard-to-reach patients who were missed by pharmacists and doctors alike.

Searching for early signs of the service’s failure will not achieve this. Instead, pharmacists now deserve – to use the BMA’s own choice of phrase – a “serious commitment” from GPs to collaborate and build on the sector’s early success.

Read the BMA's response to the announcement of the flu service here

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